As far as the rematch is concerned, I will reset the poll because it will be interesting to see how forum members vote this time after Usyk was awarded a majority decision in the first fight. At this moment in time, I am absolutely convinced Fury will win the rematch if it goes ahead because he will be the hungrier of the two and he will try to step up in the way he did during his trilogy with Wilder. Obviously I could be proved wrong and not only that, maybe Usyk will step up and be even better (and maybe I will change my opinion as we get closer to the date).
Earlier today, Frank Warren stated both boxers want the rematch and a date/venue will be announced soon. I hope it does go ahead.
Topic: [ POLL ] The Unification Fight: FURY vs USYK 17th FEBRUARY 2024 - page 15. (Read 5484 times)
I hope the IBF will stick to their earlier statement and that is to strip Usyk of his belt unless he comes with an agreement which is most likely to pay Filip a step aside fee.
The IBF is known for many years as the most reliable among those major belts, enforcing strictly on their mandatories. They even stripped popular champions like Lennox Lewis. But the IBF changed when Daryl Peoples assumed leadership. Errol Spence and some fighters were given special treatments. So I won't be surprised if Hrgovic will be fighting for the useless interim belt instead of the real IBF belt even without receiving a step aside fee.
The IBF is known for many years as the most reliable among those major belts, enforcing strictly on their mandatories. They even stripped popular champions like Lennox Lewis. But the IBF changed when Daryl Peoples assumed leadership. Errol Spence and some fighters were given special treatments. So I won't be surprised if Hrgovic will be fighting for the useless interim belt instead of the real IBF belt even without receiving a step aside fee.
As per this report, they have filed for a exception,
Quote
Oleksandr Usyk has taken a first step—and perhaps a last gasp—to keep his undisputed heavyweight championship reign intact.
The Ring has confirmed that the unbeaten two-division champ has filed an exception to avoid being stripped of the IBF title. The request to delay his overdue mandatory title defense comes six days after Usyk defeated Tyson Fury via split decision to fully unify all the heavyweight titles. Fury’s representatives confirmed plans to enforce a rematch clause.
The Ring has confirmed that the unbeaten two-division champ has filed an exception to avoid being stripped of the IBF title. The request to delay his overdue mandatory title defense comes six days after Usyk defeated Tyson Fury via split decision to fully unify all the heavyweight titles. Fury’s representatives confirmed plans to enforce a rematch clause.
https://www.ringtv.com/670559-oleksandr-usyk-files-for-exception-to-ibf-mandatory-defense-versus-filip-hrgovic/
The got all the belts in their first fight, hopefully the same can be said in the rematch and I do hope that IBF will not stripped Usyk of the belt. It's a good first step to show his intention to the IBF and it's obvious that he can't fulfill his obligation to fight their mandatory after his fight with Fury.
I hope the IBF will stick to their earlier statement and that is to strip Usyk of his belt unless he comes with an agreement which is most likely to pay Filip a step aside fee.
The IBF is known for many years as the most reliable among those major belts, enforcing strictly on their mandatories. They even stripped popular champions like Lennox Lewis. But the IBF changed when Daryl Peoples assumed leadership. Errol Spence and some fighters were given special treatments. So I won't be surprised if Hrgovic will be fighting for the useless interim belt instead of the real IBF belt even without receiving a step aside fee.
The IBF is known for many years as the most reliable among those major belts, enforcing strictly on their mandatories. They even stripped popular champions like Lennox Lewis. But the IBF changed when Daryl Peoples assumed leadership. Errol Spence and some fighters were given special treatments. So I won't be surprised if Hrgovic will be fighting for the useless interim belt instead of the real IBF belt even without receiving a step aside fee.
If this is a problem, then solving this problem (collecting all the belts) seems more valuable.
The financial aspect of any boxing bout as alluring as it could be probably will not be bigger than the desire of either Fury or Usyk to cement their place in history. To have had the unification fight was momentous (the first time it happened since Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield in 1999) and to have a rematch with all the belts on the line again would be the least fans should expect.~
Yep, it's true. But this does not contradict my words in any way? My point of view is that having a bunch of (4 main at the moment) belts is a better state of affairs for boxing than if there was only one belt. I mean that it’s good that there are different versions of championship belts, and not just that some boxer has these belts.
The more belts, the more dynamics and the faster new faces can replace old ones.
Well, for one reason or another most boxing fans would like to see Fury and Usyk have the rematch with the same titles and championship belts as were on the line on 18th May when the unification fight happened. We all know Usyk is not avoiding anybody but the IBF is now getting free publicity as they are being mentioned in the media.
You are right about Usyk because with just six heavyweight fights at the age of 37 he became undisputed heavyweight champion and that is phenomenal. All that after he stepped up as undefeated undisputed cruiserweight champion too and his first professional boxing fight was at the very late age of 26 years old.
You are right about Usyk because with just six heavyweight fights at the age of 37 he became undisputed heavyweight champion and that is phenomenal. All that after he stepped up as undefeated undisputed cruiserweight champion too and his first professional boxing fight was at the very late age of 26 years old.
I really hope this can be solved in favor of Usyk, I know those rules are set in place so the champion cannot avoid the top contender for long, but Usyk is not avoiding anyone, he got all the belts of the heavyweight division in just 6 fights, and it should be obvious that the best for him, boxing fans and box in general is to allow him to keep all his titles for his rematch with Fury, after that the winner can just begin to fight against the mandatory challengers.
If this is a problem, then solving this problem (collecting all the belts) seems more valuable.
The financial aspect of any boxing bout as alluring as it could be probably will not be bigger than the desire of either Fury or Usyk to cement their place in history. To have had the unification fight was momentous (the first time it happened since Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield in 1999) and to have a rematch with all the belts on the line again would be the least fans should expect.Things are getting pretty confusing...
At the moment yes things are confusing. Maybe things will clear when the next major news updates are released by the Fury, Usyk and the IBF.Seem just technicalities will save Usyk's IBF belt and only an interim fight will happen. This is a good thing for him but what about after June 2? Can't believe this is just a coincidence. No one will question what the British Boxing Board of Control has to do over Usyk. This has to be boxing politics in action.
Dubois vs Hrgovic should be an interim fight otherwise there will be no reason for Usyk-Fury 2 right? This means Usyk will be stripped of the IBF belt after the suspension date and this rematch will be for the IBF belt this Oct, right? Gotta give what the Saudis want.
(...) as Usyk could still be wearing it until such time that he will have his rematch with Tyson Fury.(...)
Not necessarily. Only if the IBF grants him the exception his team asked for. Otherwise, he's "protected" only until 2nd June. After that, the IBF could demand him to fight the interim belt holder next. The whole idea of the interim championship is that the original champ has to face the interim champ after his return.
Also from what I read, the powerful broker, HE Turki Alalshikh spoke to Flip Hrgovic and could have a verbal agreement that the fight is going to be for the interim belt and maybe wait for the result of the Fury vs Usyk as he could be next in the line.
Have you got a link to that? All I can find is that Alalshikh has announced that the winner of Hrgovic Vs Dubois will face Anthony Joshua in September:https://talksport.com/sport/1869699/anthony-joshua-next-fight-tyson-fury-dubois-hrgovic/
Which would indicate that either:
1 - no interim belt will be introduced and Usyk will be granted the exception and then the winner of Usyk Vs Fury 2 will face the winner of Hrgovic/Dubois Vs Joshua for the IBF title shot; or
2 - Usyk will be stripped and the winner of Hrgovis Vs Dubois will face Joshua for the IBF belt, and whoever wins then could maybe face the winner of Usyk Vs Fury 2.
That's how I read the situation anyway.
Is this even an option though? i.e. if the Saudis paid Hrgovic to say he doesn't want to fight anytime soon and is happy to wait for the outcome of the rematch, wouldn't the IBF be in power to force Usyk to defend the belt against whoever is ranked below Hrgovic? Just to prevent stalling etc.
I think hilariousetc meant a deal with IBF, not with the top contender himself.
So, if what hilariousetc wrote is true and Usyk cannot be stripped while being on medical suspension (until 2nd June), then the Hrgovic Vs Dubois (scheduled for the 1st of June) will definitely not have a freshly vacated IBF belt on the line. At the very best, it could be an interim belt. Correct?
Things are getting pretty confusing...
I really hope this can be solved in favor of Usyk, I know those rules are set in place so the champion cannot avoid the top contender for long, but Usyk is not avoiding anyone, he got all the belts of the heavyweight division in just 6 fights, and it should be obvious that the best for him, boxing fans and box in general is to allow him to keep all his titles for his rematch with Fury, after that the winner can just begin to fight against the mandatory challengers. I think hilariousetc meant a deal with IBF, not with the top contender himself.
So, if what hilariousetc wrote is true and Usyk cannot be stripped while being on medical suspension (until 2nd June), then the Hrgovic Vs Dubois (scheduled for the 1st of June) will definitely not have a freshly vacated IBF belt on the line. At the very best, it could be an interim belt. Correct?
Things are getting pretty confusing...
If this is a problem, then solving this problem (collecting all the belts) seems more valuable.
The financial aspect of any boxing bout as alluring as it could be probably will not be bigger than the desire of either Fury or Usyk to cement their place in history. To have had the unification fight was momentous (the first time it happened since Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield in 1999) and to have a rematch with all the belts on the line again would be the least fans should expect.Things are getting pretty confusing...
At the moment yes things are confusing. Maybe things will clear when the next major news updates are released by the Fury, Usyk and the IBF. 
My opinion was the same as most of the voters here, but I guess Fury was just too lazy. He has everything: technique, reach, height, and weight, but if he's too lazy to train, then he has nothing. The signs were there, starting with his sluggish performance against Ngannou when he could have easily beaten him if he had trained well. Instead, he was in trouble! If and only if Fury isn't injured and spends the rest of the months training like hell, then he still has a chance to get his revenge.
Agreed that he was lazy against Francis Ngannou in the fight and I speculate also in his training. However, I very much disagree that Tyson Fury was was lazy during his training against Usyk. This fight was for history and legacy! We can be quite certain that both of these boxers wanted the victory and used all of their stamina and strength. It was a split decision. There was no lazy boxer in this fight. Usyk was better than Fury despite Usyk's smaller size.
Is this even an option though? i.e. if the Saudis paid Hrgovic to say he doesn't want to fight anytime soon and is happy to wait for the outcome of the rematch, wouldn't the IBF be in power to force Usyk to defend the belt against whoever is ranked below Hrgovic? Just to prevent stalling etc.
I think hilariousetc meant a deal with IBF, not with the top contender himself.
So, if what hilariousetc wrote is true and Usyk cannot be stripped while being on medical suspension (until 2nd June), then the Hrgovic Vs Dubois (scheduled for the 1st of June) will definitely not have a freshly vacated IBF belt on the line. At the very best, it could be an interim belt. Correct?
Things are getting pretty confusing...
I think hilariousetc meant a deal with IBF, not with the top contender himself.
So, if what hilariousetc wrote is true and Usyk cannot be stripped while being on medical suspension (until 2nd June), then the Hrgovic Vs Dubois (scheduled for the 1st of June) will definitely not have a freshly vacated IBF belt on the line. At the very best, it could be an interim belt. Correct?
Things are getting pretty confusing...
This is also what I understand, their fight in June 1 could be for the interim belt only and not the regular IBF championship as Usyk could still be wearing it until such time that he will have his rematch with Tyson Fury. And it only make sense that all 4 belts are going to be in the line for the second fight, just to be fair with Fury.
And I'm seeing that someone will pay the IBF money here to allow that to happen.
Also from what I read, the powerful broker, HE Turki Alalshikh spoke to Flip Hrgovic and could have a verbal agreement that the fight is going to be for the interim belt and maybe wait for the result of the Fury vs Usyk as he could be next in the line.
As hilariousetc stated, if the IBF decline the case put forward by Usyk the other way out of this could be to make a deal/payment for their number one ranked contender to step aside and allow Usyk to have the rematch with Fury.
Is this even an option though? i.e. if the Saudis paid Hrgovic to say he doesn't want to fight anytime soon and is happy to wait for the outcome of the rematch, wouldn't the IBF be in power to force Usyk to defend the belt against whoever is ranked below Hrgovic? Just to prevent stalling etc.I think hilariousetc meant a deal with IBF, not with the top contender himself.
So, if what hilariousetc wrote is true and Usyk cannot be stripped while being on medical suspension (until 2nd June), then the Hrgovic Vs Dubois (scheduled for the 1st of June) will definitely not have a freshly vacated IBF belt on the line. At the very best, it could be an interim belt. Correct?
Things are getting pretty confusing...
That is part of the problem, the number of belts that were unified when Fury and Usyk had their fight are simply too many to keep all their authorities happy when it comes to comparing the boxers they have ranked as number one contenders. For example, if the IBF want Usyk to fight their number one ranked contender but the WBC want Usyk to fight their number one ranked contender, things will get messy.
When it comes to the WBC, WBA, IBO and IBF forcing their champions to choose between accepting mandatory fights or surrendering their title belts, it really does become a sad situation.
When it comes to the WBC, WBA, IBO and IBF forcing their champions to choose between accepting mandatory fights or surrendering their title belts, it really does become a sad situation.
If this is a problem, then solving this problem (collecting all the belts) seems more valuable.
And this problem has another side - imagine if there was only one belt. Taking into account the fact that a boxer simply physically cannot hold “round-robin tournaments,” even if we choose the best of the best, we would have a situation where the belt would be held for a very long time by someone (who would tighten its defense/choose convenient opponents, as we know there is there are a lot of tricks for this). This would greatly aggravate the corruption in boxing. In a situation where there are many belts, more boxers have the opportunity to express themselves and this motivates ambitious boxers to seek meetings with champions of different versions, rather than cowardly holding on to one belt.
They should quickly try get the rematch scheduled and make a deal with the IBF commission so that the winner has to fight the mandatory which I think will be the winner of Dubois/Hrgovic, though I also heard that AJ will be fighting the winner of those two so who knows. There's so many belts and mandatories it's hard to keep track of them all.
That is part of the problem, the number of belts that were unified when Fury and Usyk had their fight are simply too many to keep all their authorities happy when it comes to comparing the boxers they have ranked as number one contenders. For example, if the IBF want Usyk to fight their number one ranked contender but the WBC want Usyk to fight their number one ranked contender, things will get messy.When it comes to the WBC, WBA, IBO and IBF forcing their champions to choose between accepting mandatory fights or surrendering their title belts, it really does become a sad situation.
The mandatory challenger is Filip Hrgovic, who will be fighting Daniel Dubois on 1st June.
If I understand the situation correctly, if Uyk's request is rejected by the IBF, Hrgovic and Dubois may end up fighting for the belt.
As hilariousetc stated, if the IBF decline the case put forward by Usyk the other way out of this could be to make a deal/payment for their number one ranked contender to step aside and allow Usyk to have the rematch with Fury.If I understand the situation correctly, if Uyk's request is rejected by the IBF, Hrgovic and Dubois may end up fighting for the belt.
I hope Fury and Usyk manage to have that highly anticipated rematch and I hope it will be for all of the titles. If their rematch goes ahead they both deserve
to be fighting for exactly the same belts that were on the line in their first encounter.
Usyk's team made an official application for the exemption from the mandatory IBF title defence:
https://www.ringtv.com/670559-oleksandr-usyk-files-for-exception-to-ibf-mandatory-defense-versus-filip-hrgovic/
https://www.marca.com/en/boxing/2024/05/24/6650f41122601df5318b45d4.html
The mandatory challenger is Filip Hrgovic, who will be fighting Daniel Dubois on 1st June.
If I understand the situation correctly, if Uyk's request is rejected by the IBF, Hrgovic and Dubois may end up fighting for the belt.
https://www.ringtv.com/670559-oleksandr-usyk-files-for-exception-to-ibf-mandatory-defense-versus-filip-hrgovic/
https://www.marca.com/en/boxing/2024/05/24/6650f41122601df5318b45d4.html
The mandatory challenger is Filip Hrgovic, who will be fighting Daniel Dubois on 1st June.
If I understand the situation correctly, if Uyk's request is rejected by the IBF, Hrgovic and Dubois may end up fighting for the belt.
Uysk has been given a short medical suspension by the British Boxing Board of Control : https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/28083299/oleksandr-usyk-boxing-suspension-tyson-fury/
Not sure why he got one and not Tyson given it was Fury that came off worse. This could actually work out the best for both of them as Usyk can't be stripped of the belt while suspended which means it could be on the line for the rematch which I think it should be either way. They should quickly try get the rematch scheduled and make a deal with the IBF commission so that the winner has to fight the mandatory which I think will be the winner of Dubois/Hrgovic, though I also heard that AJ will be fighting the winner of those two so who knows. There's so many belts and mandatories it's hard to keep track of them all.
Not sure why he got one and not Tyson given it was Fury that came off worse. This could actually work out the best for both of them as Usyk can't be stripped of the belt while suspended which means it could be on the line for the rematch which I think it should be either way. They should quickly try get the rematch scheduled and make a deal with the IBF commission so that the winner has to fight the mandatory which I think will be the winner of Dubois/Hrgovic, though I also heard that AJ will be fighting the winner of those two so who knows. There's so many belts and mandatories it's hard to keep track of them all.
Personally, it looked as though Fury was going to win the fight after he was clearly on top at Round 5 and when Usyk took heavy punches I thought he would go down for the count but managed to stay upwards before he turned things around and won the fight.
The punch statistics for the fight show exactly how the fight unfolded over the 12 rounds and where momentum tilted in favour of Usyk before shifting in favour of Fury and eventually at the end momentum went in favour of Usyk as he won the rounds and the points on the judges scorecards.
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My opinion was the same as most of the voters here, but I guess Fury was just too lazy. He has everything: technique, reach, height, and weight, but if he's too lazy to train, then he has nothing. The signs were there, starting with his sluggish performance against Ngannou when he could have easily beaten him if he had trained well. Instead, he was in trouble! If and only if Fury isn't injured and spends the rest of the months training like hell, then he still has a chance to get his revenge.
I think he seriously trained in this fight, and as I have said before, he losses a lot of weight and that could be his strategy here and could be looking to really moved around. But Usyk is getting better as he outbox and outsmart Fury and his straight and overhand left was very effective and Fury can't counter him. Now, if Fury is really a great champion, then if the rematch he will try to avenge his lost. But then, if he takes another close lose, maybe we can say that Usyk is really the best on this era now. Defeated Joshua two times and now drop Fury to win. One judges though, his scores is questionable. 
I see you're not a Fury fan to the point that you're being unreasonable in your criticism.
Why would he be content in fighting bums? Not for the glory/legacy, that's for sure, so for money? A rematch with Usyk would yield them much more than a dozen bum fights.
He lost to Usyk in a close fight by split decision while dealing more physical damage to Usyk than the other way around. Of course he's not without a chance in a rematch, so why would he be afraid of it?
Plus, they had a rematch clause in the contract, both confirmed they want it to happen, and it's tentatively scheduled for 12th October, so this is happening unless one of them backs out of it (there could be some penalties involved though).
Why would he be content in fighting bums? Not for the glory/legacy, that's for sure, so for money? A rematch with Usyk would yield them much more than a dozen bum fights.
He lost to Usyk in a close fight by split decision while dealing more physical damage to Usyk than the other way around. Of course he's not without a chance in a rematch, so why would he be afraid of it?
Plus, they had a rematch clause in the contract, both confirmed they want it to happen, and it's tentatively scheduled for 12th October, so this is happening unless one of them backs out of it (there could be some penalties involved though).
Fury has been a polarizing and controversial figure. People would have looked for reasons to discredit him regardless of the outcome. I don’t really get it, it’s not like he is Jake Paul. I’ve seen some opinions online from people saying he is a bum who has never beaten any good fighters and that he was easily defeated by an MMA fighter. Paradoxically, most of these people are now saying that Usyk is the #1 fighter in the world after winning against an "overrated bum" like Fury.
Usyk is indeed a great fighter, but whether people want to admit it or not, Fury is also great. Up until this loss, I would’ve considered him the best heavyweight in the post-Klitschko era. Winning his titles against a legend like Klitschko in his adopted home country of Germany, and then being the first to beat a fearsome killer like Wilder are not accomplishments that can easily be ignored.
I don't know. Fury isn't as graceful in accepting defeat actually it's like taking out the glory from Usyk by saying he thought he was winning that's why in the last 2 rounds he was just running around. Duh? If it weren't for the referee he would have been crawling like Haney, I doubt he would even get up as he isn't raising his hands anymore at that 9th round.
That's how it is, no one accepts defeat, because fighters doesn't see what's the real score and obviously everyone is very positive that they are winning until the judges scorecard is announced.
And so there is a rematch, Fury will have to adjust, Usyk really amazes us, I mean he is CW, but when he moves up, it seems that he really improved a lot and his punches have power. We never thought that he could give a beating like that to a bigger Fury. Something though is wrong with Fury though, perhaps he just try to hide everything with his antics even during the fight. But deep inside his mentality is very different.
From your point of view, what kind of fight it was? Thus that this fight is split and not majority, means one judge saw Fury winning this fight. Which rounds Fury has won do you think? As I dont think that rematch is necessary it this case. Even if they went close, round 9 showed who is better. As well as Alexander Usyk has obtain all the belts. He had all belts in cruiserweight, now had them in heavyweights. For him its looks like he has achieved everything in boxing so far, and maybe it is time to think about retirement.
The sixth round was difficult for Usyk, but giving the victory to a fighter just because of one round? Usyk achieved his goal, this is a great achievement, but he is still too young to think about retiring from his career. Besides, a rematch is a common thing, and it seems to me that Usyk would not mind repeating this fight again, given that he was better throughout almost the entire fight. For Fury, this is the first defeat, it can change his self-confidence, it’s not for nothing that he was afraid to look Usyk in the eyes. Usik also pointed out to the referee a couple of times that Fury struck at the back of the head, but this is his method, he always liked to act with some tricks, and by the way, he once refused Klitschko a rematch.From what I saw, Usyk won more than one round, and despite 6th round was tough for Usyk, Fury did not send him to knockdown. Late rounds, the most complicated or called champion rounds were all taken by Usyk. For me, the way Usyk performed that night is enough to call him a winner or champion.
Maybe you are right that it is early for him to retire, but what should he do next despite having title protection? There is nothing else to achieve. He could continue fighting only for the sake of money, as there is nothing else left to win. Olympic champion, Worlds champion in all organizations.
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